The Sarami Teddy Bear Fund provides firefighters and ambulance personnel teddy bears to give to children in emergency situations. This program began more than eight years ago in memory of a girl who loved little children and understood that for injured children, emergency medical treatment is sometimes as frightening as the incident that caused the injury.
Sarami Cheaqui, the late daughter of Brenda and Bill Cheaqui, knew what it was like to be a frightened child enduring medical procedures meant to help. She spent many days in hospitals and clinics due to congenital heart defects and expressed sympathy for the other children there.
Sarami's friends and family gave her many stuffed animals so that she would always have something soft to hold onto when she needed some extra courage and comfort. Shortly before she died at age 16, she donated her stuffed animals to a hospital emergency room to be given to hurting, frightened children.
Her family and friends believed a fitting memorial for Sarami would be to provide "Teddy Bear Comfort" to children receiving emergency medical treatment from the Kansas City metropolitan area fire departments and ambulance services. Since 1990, several thousand stuffed animals have been provided to these special children through the efforts of the Sarami Cheaqui Memorial Fund.
The demand for "Teddy Bear Comfort" continues to grow, due largely to the increase in violence directed toward children in our society and the large number of children who are seriously hurt in motor vehicle accidents (who often could be spared serious injury through the proper use of seat belts and child safety seats). KCFD firefighters and MAST crews now give out about 150 stuffed animals a month to sick and injured children. This volume made it impossible for the Memorial Fund to keep up with the demand. Thus the group Sarami's Friends has been created to get the word out that your help is needed to keep this project going for these traumatized children. If you would like to become one of Sarami's Friends, please donate to the Sarami Teddy Bear Comfort fund at:
Sarami's Teddy Bear Comfort
6750 Eastwood Trafficway
Kansas City, MO 64129-1940
816-924-1700
Your generosity is greatly appreciated.
